cancel
Showing results for 
Search instead for 
Did you mean: 

Closed 2 Credit Accounts, For the Better?

tag
sonson
Regular Contributor

Closed 2 Credit Accounts, For the Better?

Closed my PayPal SmartConnect and Kay Jewlers Credit Accounts with them. I have number used those cards at all. And PayPal has some issues on its website on viewing my account profile. Glad I closed them, because I will have an easier time in keeping track on my credit accounts. 


Starting Score: EQ 548 [ Feb 2010 ]
Current Score: TU 663 EQ 686
Goal Score: 700


Take the FICO Fitness Challenge







Message 1 of 16
15 REPLIES 15
PetRaccoon
New Contributor

Re: Closed 2 Credit Accounts, For the Better?

Well, your AoAA will take a ding as well as your UTIL (if they were reporting limits).  But in the long run I don't think it'll hurt too much.

TU08:: 754 (4/14) EQ: 745 (6/14) 753 (1/13) Ex: 766 (12/11)
Goal: 800! Then Keep it there and keep growing!~
Card(s): HSBC Premier WMC: 5,000 (7/09), Chase Freedom 6,000 (11/11) BCE 3,200 (12/11) Chase Saph: 5,000 (5/12)
Message 2 of 16
haulingthescoreup
Moderator Emerita

Re: Closed 2 Credit Accounts, For the Better?


@PetRaccoon wrote:

Well, your AoAA will take a ding as well as your UTIL (if they were reporting limits).  But in the long run I don't think it'll hurt too much.


Your AAoA is not affected when cards are closed, as long as the accounts report. (Typically 10 years after closing, although they can and do fall off sooner.)

 

AAoA (and oldest account) are factored on both open and closed accounts.

 

As long as an account is on your reports, whether open or closed, it is factored into your history.

* Credit is a wonderful servant, but a terrible master. * Who's the boss --you or your credit?
FICO's: EQ 781 - TU 793 - EX 779 (from PSECU) - Done credit hunting; having fun with credit gardening. - EQ 590 on 5/14/2007
Message 3 of 16
PetRaccoon
New Contributor

Re: Closed 2 Credit Accounts, For the Better?

Well, I only said that cause they don't grow anymore, which I guess, In my opinion is a ding.

TU08:: 754 (4/14) EQ: 745 (6/14) 753 (1/13) Ex: 766 (12/11)
Goal: 800! Then Keep it there and keep growing!~
Card(s): HSBC Premier WMC: 5,000 (7/09), Chase Freedom 6,000 (11/11) BCE 3,200 (12/11) Chase Saph: 5,000 (5/12)
Message 4 of 16
Guava
Established Contributor

Re: Closed 2 Credit Accounts, For the Better?

The way I see it, the less hassle and confusion, the better!


Starting Score (08/11/11): TU08: 643
Current Score: TU08: 741
Goal Score: Stay in the 700s; keep reports clean


Take the FICO Fitness Challenge
Message 5 of 16
haulingthescoreup
Moderator Emerita

Re: Closed 2 Credit Accounts, For the Better?


@PetRaccoon wrote:

Well, I only said that cause they don't grow anymore, which I guess, In my opinion is a ding.


Not trying to be argumentative Smiley Happy, and I'm not sure if I'm understanding what you're saying, but the age of a closed account continues to increase every year, and therefore it helps your AAoA every year, until it eventually falls off your reports, at which point you might see a ding due to lowered AAoA. But in most cases, people have acquired new credit along the way, and there isn't a dramatic drop in AAoA, and therefore there isn't a dramatic drop in your FICO scores.

 

However, closed accounts can and do come off early, especially on Equifax if you pull your own reports frequently (= lotsa soft pulls). And even Experian, which usually holds on to things until the end of time, stopped reporting one of my old closed accounts when the single late on it hit seven years. It was supposed to keep reporting until 10 years after closing, and they even listed this on my reports when it said "this account should remain until blah-blah", but it went poof when the 30 hit seven years. Smiley Mad

 

It is true that obviously, your CL on a closed account won't continue to grow (in fact, if the account has a $0 balance, the CL is also $), so if that's what you were saying when you wrote "cause they don't grow anymore," then I agree.

* Credit is a wonderful servant, but a terrible master. * Who's the boss --you or your credit?
FICO's: EQ 781 - TU 793 - EX 779 (from PSECU) - Done credit hunting; having fun with credit gardening. - EQ 590 on 5/14/2007
Message 6 of 16
haulingthescoreup
Moderator Emerita

Re: Closed 2 Credit Accounts, For the Better?


@sonson wrote:

Closed my PayPal SmartConnect and Kay Jewlers Credit Accounts with them. I have number used those cards at all. And PayPal has some issues on its website on viewing my account profile. Glad I closed them, because I will have an easier time in keeping track on my credit accounts. 


+1

 

IMO, this can be a very legitimate reason to close accounts, even those without fees.

 

Your life shouldn't revolve around keeping track of your various credit accounts and paying this here and that there. Your credit should be your servant, not the other way around.

 

If you've read fused's Closing Credit Cards, and you've taken a week or two to think about all the ramifications of closing an account --as it relates to your personal credit situation --and it still makes sense, then go for it!

* Credit is a wonderful servant, but a terrible master. * Who's the boss --you or your credit?
FICO's: EQ 781 - TU 793 - EX 779 (from PSECU) - Done credit hunting; having fun with credit gardening. - EQ 590 on 5/14/2007
Message 7 of 16
PetRaccoon
New Contributor

Re: Closed 2 Credit Accounts, For the Better?

I wasn't trying to be arguementative either. Oo. Just explaining what I thought was the bad points of closing accounts. From what I've been reading.. Closed accounts don't age, but I guess they do. Thanks for explaining that. I'm still fairly new at the credit thing. What I thought was that closed accounts kept the age up to the point of the time they closed.

Sorry for wall of text effect, posting from phone. Also sorry for semi-thread derailment.
TU08:: 754 (4/14) EQ: 745 (6/14) 753 (1/13) Ex: 766 (12/11)
Goal: 800! Then Keep it there and keep growing!~
Card(s): HSBC Premier WMC: 5,000 (7/09), Chase Freedom 6,000 (11/11) BCE 3,200 (12/11) Chase Saph: 5,000 (5/12)
Message 8 of 16
Smug
Established Contributor

Re: Closed 2 Credit Accounts, For the Better?

I did the same thing had a HSBC discover for 400.00 and a cap 1 for 750.00 now have NFCU 7.5 and Barclays 5k and PSECU 5k, my score didn't drop at all they were about a year old .
Experian® 808/Equifax® ?/TransUnion® 810
Baddies Experian® clean/Equifax® 1/TransUnion® Clean
Last CLI 6-13-2013
Total Credit $121,190.00
Goal 780!
Message 9 of 16
CS800
Super Contributor

Re: Closed 2 Credit Accounts, For the Better?


@haulingthescoreup wrote:

@PetRaccoon wrote:

Well, your AoAA will take a ding as well as your UTIL (if they were reporting limits).  But in the long run I don't think it'll hurt too much.


Your AAoA is not affected when cards are closed, as long as the accounts report. (Typically 10 years after closing, although they can and do fall off sooner.)

 

AAoA (and oldest account) are factored on both open and closed accounts.

 

As long as an account is on your reports, whether open or closed, it is factored into your history.



Great now i can close my $500 cap one with the $60 af




Message 10 of 16
Advertiser Disclosure: The offers that appear on this site are from third party advertisers from whom FICO receives compensation.